After a Patriots win, I always wake up feeling energized and filled with positivity. This past game against the Chicago Bears, I wondered how we would fare against a team that’s similar to New England but with more talent. 

I won’t lie, heading into the game I was worried about our defense. I knew Chicago’s offensive line was missing a few key starters, but I feared what Caleb Williams could do when he started scrambling. Boy was I wrong. 

The Patriots defense was immense, sacking Caleb Williams nine times. Leading into the game, New England had 16 total sacks all season. When you play a quarterback like Caleb, it’s important not to let him escape the tackle box where he can make a play on the run either with his arms or use his speed to move the chains. The defensive linemen were off the blocks quickly and gave Williams no time or space to escape the pocket. 

The defense was so good that before his postgame press conference, Drake Maye had the reporters give the defense a round of applause for how well they played. 

Listen, the Patriots have a long way to go until they’re back competing, but these are the games they need to either win or be competitive in. I’m ok with losing to teams like Houston or say Kansas City where the talent gap is huge, but with teams like the Bears we should be winning or be in the game until the very end. 

Everyone knows the injuries/suspensions we have on the defensive side of the ball starting with our best lineman Christian Barmore, our captain Ju’Whuan Bentley, Kyle Dugger, and Jabrill Peppers. But to see the team slowly get better each week is something you want to see from a rebuilding side. 

Jerod Mayo was given a broken team and had to change the entire culture that the greatest coach of all time left behind him. It was always going to take time. 

I still don’t think we’re going to win eight games or anything of that nature, but it’s nice not to be the worst team in the NFL, which rightfully belongs to the New York Giants. 

On Monday, Mayo opened the press conference with a shoutout to the defense. 

“Defensively, I thought the front did a good job. I thought [Jeremiah] Pharms [Jr.] went in there and definitely gave us a spark, so I was happy to see that. But all those guys, especially the interior guys, for the most part, played pretty well. Now, there were a few runs that did squeak through, but I thought they did a decent job for us. The edge at times, I wouldn’t say it was a problem, but it was a little softer than we would have liked it to be. I thought the defensive backs really tried to come up and support some of those plays, which was encouraging to see. I think the young players are definitely growing up,” Mayo said. “I think Marte [Mapu] has taken a step forward, even though he didn’t play that much, especially on early downs. I just think his overall communication and control of the defense continues to improve while we don’t have the other guys in there. But the linebackers went out there and tried to play hard. I thought Jahlani [Tavai] definitely did a good job with the front adjustments and that communication, and also obviously coming up with the big play as far as the sack.”

Drake Maye has been forced to do a lot in his early NFL career, including accounting for 95 percent of the offense against the Titans a week ago which includes 41 throws for 206 yards and eight rushes for 95 yards. That’s way too much responsibility to be put on Maye to lead this team to a win. This past Sunday, the run game was better and Maye got help from the defense so he didn’t have to be Superman every time he went under center. 

Now the Patriots will face the Rams who have had an up-and-down season in regards to injuries, but they are playing on a short week since they played on Monday night.